Lady Starlight’s playlist

Lady Gaga wasn’t born this way. Not with that persona.

Before Gaga found fame, fashion, glamour and attitude, she discovered a muse, a mentor and basically a soul mate in performance artist and glam rock, heavy metal DJ, Lady Starlight.

Back in 2006, Lady Starlight, born Colleen Martin, showed an amateur and virtually unknown Gaga the ropes.

One of the first things Starlight remembers teaching Gaga was how to stretch a dollar and look like a million bucks.

Starlight picked that up moonlighting as a go-go dancer in NYC and making her own costumes on a tight budget.

“I brought that to the table when Gaga and I started working together,” she says.

“But the most important thing I helped Gaga with was encouraging her to go all the way with the look and the attitude. I remember when she tried on a bodysuit when we were going out, and asked my advice on what to put over it. I said, ‘Nothing.’ The rest is history.”

Looking to the past, Lady Starlight has made a playlist of artists that, like herself and Gaga, give good persona.

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Mike Patton

“He subtly and casually antagonizes his audience. Genius.”

Peter Hammill

“I don’t know what it is about Peter Hammill that attracts such an obsessive fan base, but Iʼm a Hammill-phile. At the end of a Belgian TV performance of ʻA Plague of Lighthouse Keepersʼ he gets up from the piano with a glass of wine. I’m obsessed with that moment. Look it up on youtube.”

Guitar Wolf

“I saw them at CBGB and the guitarist’s intro was theatrically combing back his pompadour. Dramatic grooming, yes! And don’t even get me started on the film Wild Zero.”

Adrian Smith

“Remarkably under-appreciated for his style and stage performance. My fave in Iron Maiden.”

Bryan Ferry

“I’m a huge Roxy Music fan (especially the Eno years). Ferryʼs awkward and somewhat creepy performance style has always intrigued me. He is an artistic genius, I know its deliberate, but I’ve never been able to figure out exactly what he is channeling. All I know is it’s good… bad? Whatʼs the difference, really?”

Lady Starlight opens for Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball across North America. Click here for tour dates.

Lady Starlight is currently recording an EP. Follow her on twitter and facebook for updates.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Jun 26 2014. Filed under Celebrity Playlist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.